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joewein.de LLC
fighting spam and scams on the Internet
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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam
The so-called "419" scam is a type of fraud dominated by criminals from Nigeria and other countries in Africa. Victims of the scam are promised a large amount of money, such as a lottery prize, inheritance, money sitting in some bank account, etc.
Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.
Keep in mind that scammers DO NOT use their real names when defrauding people.
The criminals either abuse names of real people or companies or invent names or addresses.
Any real people or companies mentioned below have NO CONNECTION to the scammers!
Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.
Click here to report a problem with this page.
Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:
- This email uses a separate reply address that is different from the sender address. Spammers use this to get replies even when the original spam sending accounts have been shut down. Also, sometimes the sender addresses are legitimate looking but fake and only the reply address is actually an email account controlled by the scammers.
- The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
- "will come to you as a surprise" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
- "urgent assistance" (scammers rush victims so they don't have time to think properly)
- This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
Fraud email example:
From: Office File <wendyarandas@sheldonisd.com>
Reply-To: <etjak3@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2022 11:33:02 -0700
Subject: [EXTERNAL EMAIL - USE CAUTION] FOR YOUR ATTENTION. =
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. DO NOT click links, provide credentials or open attachments unless you validate the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Sir,
Good Day Sir, my name is Mr. Lesetja Kganyago. I know that this mail
will come to you as a surprise as we have never met before, I need
your Urgent assistance to transfer the sum of $ 2.9 two million nine
hundred thousand Dollars) to your Private account immediately. The
money has been here in our Bank lying dormant for years without
anybody coming for the claim of it. Waiting to hear from you to enable
my further discussion with you in confidence.
Best regards and wishes to you.
Mr. Lesetja
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Anti-fraud resources:
